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Cultural Happenings: MLK Day Volunteering

The United States celebrates the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights activist, by participating in volunteer events to foster love and support within communities each year on MLK Day. LifeTRAVELED exchange visitors answered the call to action of MLK Day with Clean the World, a non-profit dedicated to collecting soap and plastic waste from the hospitality industry, recycling them into new soap bars, and packaging and distributing them to communities around the world. Clean the World’s headquarters are located in Orlando, Florida, the Theme Capital of the World, a city with thousands of tourists contributing to hospitality waste. Exchange visitors donated their time to the Clean the World warehouse to assist their mission of transforming discarded materials into community resources. Upon their arrival, the exchange visitors learned about the evolution of soap through a visual timeline display with historic soap samples and marketing materials. To aid the organization’s efforts, the exchange visitors sorting and evaluating donations and packaged shipments. The exchange visitors boxed an impressive 8,000 bars of soap that would be shipped to the Philippines. By donating their time and efforts to Clean the World, the exchange visitors honored Dr. King's legacy of service and contributed to global health and sustainability efforts, showing that small acts of service have meaningful impact.